"MESSIAH"

Mehdi Dehbi as al-Masih (Messiah).

Messiah, a Netflix series, is well written and explores the phenomenon of religion in society from several individual perspectives. The political, the psychological and the social aspects of religion are intertwined in the story through thrifty character portrayals, where the writing and acting are impressive.

Most of us have had some exposure to one of the major World Religions. The monotheism which loosely binds the big three of The West brings us to Messiah with a common language. The dilemma of all the characters lies in their internal conflicts between belief and skepticism.

Belgian actor Mehdi Dehbi was a good choice for the title role. He plays the enigmatic stranger, the nobody from somewhere in The Middle East. He is a multilingual sphinx who walks on water, calms a tornado and invokes a sandstorm of Biblical proportions. His facial expressions surf the edge of smugness and wise amusement as he intently listens to the projections of believers and haters alike.

I am moved by this series. It evokes feelings from my Catholic childhood. Dehbi's penetrating stare is consistent with the image of Christ which was pushed into my mind subtly by devout Catholic nuns: Christ the Lover, Christ the Comforter, Christ the Listener, Christ the Forgiver. I find myself fighting the seduction of my emotions in order to remain open to what the writers and actors are actually saying.

I decided to get numeric as a way to analyze some of the impact this series may have on various inniates to various "faiths". Frankly, I found the numbers quite startling:

There are 130 Muslims (13000% more) worldwide for every one Jew.

There are 160 Christians (16000% more) worldwide for every Jew.

There are 4 times the number of Muslims worldwide to Buddhists.

Muslims outnumber Hindus by 160%.

Christians outnumber Muslims by 120%.

These numbers have to impact anyone's geopolitical perspective. Certainly, Israel's position in geopolitics is special simply by the numbers, since it is surrounded by Muslim states. And Muslim states in The Middle East are similarly surrounded by more populous and armed non-Muslim nations. The Holy Land's position as a crucible for flames of religious conflict is undeniable, just in human terms of identification and belonging.

Messiah may fail in its bigger view of religious influence on world politics, but the roots of religion's effect on world affairs lie ultimately in its emotional influence on the dispossessed, the poor, the uneducated. Messiah or trickster, either can set the world afire.  

Western democracies are becoming post-religious in terms of individuals' commitment to religious dogma. Perhaps this is a good thing. But what is lost with that? I believe Messiah poses that question in a very intelligent and paradoxical way.  It is entertaining. It is thought-provoking and suspenseful. These qualities speak to the evolution of streaming media as the central producer of worthwhile theatrical art in our media age.